by L.M. Archer | Burgundy, Bubbles + beyond

My Latest In Oregon Wine Press: Terroir Whisperer

Parra takes detailed notes on soils found on research sites.Photo by Kimberly Hasselbrink.

Terroir Whisperer

International expert digs into Willamette Valley

By L.M. Archer

Pedro Parra, wiping his sweaty brow, heaves a soil-smeared pickaxe from the chest-high pit surrounding him. A backhoe looms above the burly, bearded man, a silent sentinel and partner-in-crime to this scene of calculated destruction stretching under Oregon’s late afternoon sky. Parra sighs and hoists himself out of the hole, dusting dirt off his smudged jeans and shirt.

2 thoughts on “My Latest In Oregon Wine Press: Terroir Whisperer”

Great article. How did you come in contact with Pedro? I hadn’t run into his name before when I was researching terrior. I think he is right about most new world vineyardists pay too little attention to how they divide their plots, without regard to slope, orientation and hill position. I saw a Kistler plot map, and the first thing I noticed was the vineyard blocks had no relation to hill shape or postion. That said, they are often working with smaller, multi-directional hillsides that are steeper than most of those in Burgundy – and they are often attempting to make large lots of wine.